thought i would offer info on stihl oil

[harrington]

thought i would offer up some info on using stihl 2 cycle oil. i have heard a lot of people speak of using synthetic oil over the old red bottles. i was/am considering doing the same, but i stripper down my 90-r 4-mix weed eater because it was a little down on power and dealer had mention that the old regular oil has been known to carbon up the cylinder/valves etc. i have a 100+ hours on this weed eater, running for long periods at time. i pulled the piston/crank assenbly out of the cylinder and was shocked to see the chamber was spotless. valves/seats everything was spotless of carbon. only a 2 cycle mix coated everthing. cylinder was in great shape as well. there was no build up in the bottom half of the crank case. quite simply, the engine could not have looked in better shape.

i use fresh 93 octane in my engines and make sure its 1 gallon, no more , no less and then mix with right amount of oil.

don't get me wrong, i use synthetic oil in my 7.3 diesel, my wifes car, and my 501" big block. but these are reservoir systems that resuse the oil for a period of time. i suspect the synthetic oil can only help the small engines in chainsaws (and weedeaters), but i guess my point to this post is i don't think we are doing a disservice to our engines by using the old standby orange bottle oil.

what was wrong by the way. . . coil was to far away. how this happened, i don't know. i found this before splitting the case, but i has half way apart and wanted to see what the dealer was talking about. so i finished taking it apart anyway. put back together and all is well.

take this for what it is worth, one data point that says the regular oil still works.

Chris

 

[Andyshine77]

thought i would offer up some info on using stihl 2 cycle oil. i have heard a lot of people speak of using synthetic oil over the old red bottles. i was/am considering doing the same, but i stripper down my 90-r 4-mix weed eater because it was a little down on power and dealer had mention that the old regular oil has been known to carbon up the cylinder/valves etc. i have a 100+ hours on this weed eater, running for long periods at time. i pulled the piston/crank assenbly out of the cylinder and was shocked to see the chamber was spotless. valves/seats everything was spotless of carbon. only a 2 cycle mix coated everthing. cylinder was in great shape as well. there was no build up in the bottom half of the crank case. quite simply, the engine could not have looked in better shape.

i use fresh 93 octane in my engines and make sure its 1 gallon, no more , no less and then mix with right amount of oil.

don't get me wrong, i use synthetic oil in my 7.3 diesel, my wifes car, and my 501" big block. but these are reservoir systems that resuse the oil for a period of time. i suspect the synthetic oil can only help the small engines in chainsaws (and weedeaters), but i guess my point to this post is i don't think we are doing a disservice to our engines by using the old standby orange bottle oil.

what was wrong by the way. . . coil was to far away. how this happened, i don't know. i found this before splitting the case, but i has half way apart and wanted to see what the dealer was talking about. so i finished taking it apart anyway. put back together and all is well.

take this for what it is worth, one data point that says the regular oil still works.

Chris

I've seen this happen with engines that were tuned rich and never ran hot enough to allow anything to stick in the combustion chamber or ports. There is a point where an engine runs hot and rich enough that buildup can and is a big issue. I can tell you first hand what 4 mix engines can look like when ran on non syn oil, in fact I can show you.

This is a piston from a BR600 Brad worked on a few years back. Yes that is a valve stuck on the piston.

 

[casual cutter]

For what it's worth, here in Canada most every "OEM" oil is still old fashioned dino. This is contrary to what is sold in the US. I have often wondered why this is, but cannot come to any conclusion.

The only Stihl 2 cycle mix my dealer sells is dino, which is actually manufactured by Castrol.

As a side note, the only 5W20 our Ford dealer sells is also dino. And yes, it is Ford Motorcraft dino oil that is recommended by Ford USA for both my wife's new Fiesta and my newer Ranger.

Take it as you will, but all engines are running fine all the time on dino, even in our "harsh" Canadian climate:msp_biggrin:

 

[Andyshine77]

For what it's worth, here in Canada most every "OEM" oil is still old fashioned dino. This is contrary to what is sold in the US. I have often wondered why this is, but cannot come to any conclusion.

The only Stihl 2 cycle mix my dealer sells is dino, which is actually manufactured by Castrol.

As a side note, the only 5W20 our Ford dealer sells is also dino. And yes, it is Ford Motorcraft dino oil that is recommended by Ford USA for both my wife's new Fiesta and my newer Ranger.

Take it as you will, but all engines are running fine all the time on dino, even in our "harsh" Canadian climate:msp_biggrin:

They're big loopholes when it comes to classifying automotive oils, this has been discussed to ad nauseam in passed threads. To make an oil 5w20 I can guaranteed it has a great deal of high end additives and a high percentage of group III and PAO group IV base stocks, making it for the most part a synthetic oil. Not long ago there was a big court case against Castrol for selling dino oil as a full syn product, when it was not.

Ford's oil is made by Conoco-Phillips.

 

[casual cutter]

They're big loopholes when it comes to classifying automotive oils, this has been discussed to ad nauseam in passed threads. To make an oil 5w20 I can guaranteed it has a great deal of high end additives and a high percentage of group III and PAO group IV base stocks, making it for the most part a synthetic oil. Not long ago there was a big court case against Castrol for selling dino oil as a full syn product, when it was not.

Ford's oil is made by Conoco-Phillips.

I'll let you be the judge on what is in it, and who makes it... Give me a sec to upload the pic...

 

[casual cutter]

 

[tdi-rick]

[snip]

FoMoCo doesn't blend motor oils

If it's blended in Canada it could come from imperial Oil (Esso/Exxon/Mobil./whatever you want to call them), Shell, Chevron, Petro-Canada and probably someone I've missed but definitely not Ford.

From what I've been told, Imperial Oil blend some exceptional full syn oils that Mobil doesn't or didn't market in the US.

 

[Andyshine77]

I'll let you be the judge on what is in it, and who makes it... Give me a sec to upload the pic...

Conoco-Phillips is the producer of the oil like I said, now who blends it and bottles it I don't know. Any 5 winter oil will have a strong syn backbone, and the the larger the gap between the winter/cold rating and the viscosity rating at 210° F the better the oils base stocks.

 

[Whitespider]

…and was shocked to see the chamber was spotless. valves/seats everything was spotless of carbon. only a 2 cycle mix coated everthing. cylinder was in great shape as well. there was no build up in the bottom half of the crank case. quite simply, the engine could not have looked in better shape.
…mix with right amount of oil.
…i don't think we are doing a disservice to our engines by using the old standby orange bottle oil.
… one data point that says the regular oil still works.

Yup, running “orange bottle” at 50:1, quality (well, as good as it gets) ethanol-free 91-octane pump gas, properly tuned, that’s just how my (2-cycle) engines look on the inside… near as close to brand-spankin’ new as it gets.

Ford's oil is made by Conoco-Phillips.

If it's blended in Canada it could come from imperial Oil (Esso/Exxon/Mobil./whatever you want to call them), Shell, Chevron, Petro-Canada and probably someone I've missed but definitely not Ford.

As an old Ford service manager (22 years) I was told that Motorcraft oil was made by every oil manufacturer/blender under the sun at one time or another… from distributers, from truckers delivering it, from mechanics, from customers, and from I can’t remember who else. Whoever makes it, Ford Motor Co. ain’t giving out that info… and it could be different companies depending on region. I can tell you this, Motorcraft oil is not simply bottled and re-badged; the additive package is uniquely Motorcraft (this coming from a ford engineer).

It may have changed, but Motorcraft oil in “black” bottles were marketed as non-synthetic oil, and the “red” bottles were marketed as a synthetic blend. It’s been a few years now, but as I remember it, 5w20 and 10w40 were only available in the “black” label; 5w30, 10w30 and 15w40 could be had in either “black” or “red”… with the “red” synthetic blend also labeled “Super Duty - Diesel Engines”. As far as Ford/Motorcraft is concerned, if it don’t say “Synthetic Blend” on the label, then it ain’t (but who knows, I ain’t gonna’ pay to have it analyzed).

I’ll also tell you, that after seeing hundreds of open engines, thousands of oil changes in all sorts of weather, my personal opinion is that Motorcraft 5w20 is the best 5w20 to be had. Others 5w20’s have characteristics more like water when hot, and more like thin glue when dirty and cold; but the Motorcraft always acted like “oil” (although admittedly, my customers using Motocraft oil tended to do regular, dealership performed, scheduled service, which could have a lot to do with influencing my observations).

I’m not picky about the 10w30 oil I use in small engines during summer, any brand name reasonably priced will do. But when I switch to 5w20 during the coldest part of winter I always use Motorcraft 5w20… probably a half dozen or more quarts on the shop shelf now. I also put Motorcraft 5w20 in the wife’s van during winter… never a problem spinning over, even after sitting a few days in sub-zero temps.

 

[millbilly]

Yup, running “orange bottle” at 50:1, quality (well, as good as it gets) ethanol-free 91-octane pump gas, properly tuned, that’s just how my (2-cycle) engines look on the inside… near as close to brand-spankin’ new as it gets.


As an old Ford service manager (22 years) I was told that Motorcraft oil was made by every oil manufacturer/blender under the sun at one time or another… from distributers, from truckers delivering it, from mechanics, from customers, and from I can’t remember who else. Whoever makes it, Ford Motor Co. ain’t giving out that info… and it could be different companies depending on region. I can tell you this, Motorcraft oil is not simply bottled and re-badged; the additive package is uniquely Motorcraft (this coming from a ford engineer).

It may have changed, but Motorcraft oil in “black” bottles were marketed as non-synthetic oil, and the “red” bottles were marketed as a synthetic blend. It’s been a few years now, but as I remember it, 5w20 and 10w40 were only available in the “black” label; 5w30, 10w30 and 15w40 could be had in either “black” or “red”… with the “red” synthetic blend also labeled “Super Duty - Diesel Engines”. As far as Ford/Motorcraft is concerned, if it don’t say “Synthetic Blend” on the label, then it ain’t (but who knows, I ain’t gonna’ pay to have it analyzed).

I’ll also tell you, that after seeing hundreds of open engines, thousands of oil changes in all sorts of weather, my personal opinion is that Motorcraft 5w20 is the best 5w20 to be had. Others 5w20’s have characteristics more like water when hot, and more like thin glue when dirty and cold; but the Motorcraft always acted like “oil” (although admittedly, my customers using Motocraft oil tended to do regular, dealership performed, scheduled service, which could have a lot to do with influencing my observations).

I’m not picky about the 10w30 oil I use in small engines during summer, any brand name reasonably priced will do. But when I switch to 5w20 during the coldest part of winter I always use Motorcraft 5w20… probably a half dozen or more quarts on the shop shelf now. I also put Motorcraft 5w20 in the wife’s van during winter… never a problem spinning over, even after sitting a few days in sub-zero temps.

For some strange reason I thought this thread was about 2cycle oil.

 

[Roll Tide]

:welcome::computer2::deadhorse:

 

[Arbonaut]

Was that pictures of a Motocraft oil bottle?

 

[lone wolf]

:welcome::computer2::deadhorse:

[video=youtube;6VF5P7qLaEQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VF5P7qLaEQ&feature=related[/video]

 

[Roll Tide]

[video=youtube;6VF5P7qLaEQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VF5P7qLaEQ&feature=related[/video]

I got some rep for ya sir. That was a good one.

 

[Fedaburger]

For some strange reason I thought this thread was about 2cycle oil.

I think motorcraft 5w-20 mixes real nice at 20:1. And I don't even see any smoke until it warms up, and not much at that. A nice oil film coat on everything as well.

(just kiddin)

 

[lone wolf]

I've seen this happen with engines that were tuned rich and never ran hot enough to allow anything to stick in the combustion chamber or ports. There is a point where an engine runs hot and rich enough that buildup can and is a big issue. I can tell you first hand what 4 mix engines can look like when ran on non syn oil, in fact I can show you.

This is a piston from a BR600 Brad worked on a few years back. Yes that is a valve stuck on the piston.

WTF:msp_w00t:

 

[Lakeside53]

I do not not put anything but synthetic in my 4 mix engines. You can often get way with it on a typical homeowner use trimmer because the engine power (therefore temperatures) cycle often, but blowers tend to run at max HP for long run times(like full tanks!). If you run you trimmer/brush cutter at full power for entire tanks, you will have the same issues.

I've "fixed" several BR600's in my neighborhood by simply getting the owner to change from what ever junk oil they had lying around to synthetic. Within a few tank fulls, the blowers were as running sweet again, and I didn't have to deal with decarbonizing. I don't care what synthetic so long as it's a major brand name (and not one that claims it can be run at mixed at snake oil ratios).

 

[lone wolf]

I do not not put anything but synthetic in my 4 mix engines. You can often get way with it on a typical homeowner use trimmer because the engine power (therefore temperatures) cycle often, but blowers tend to run at max HP for long run times(like full tanks!). If you run you trimmer/brush cutter at full power for entire tanks, you will have the same issues.

I've "fixed" several BR600's in my neighborhood by simply getting the owner to change from what ever junk oil they had lying around to synthetic. Within a few tank fulls, the blowers were as running sweet again, and I didn't have to deal with decarbonizing. I don't care what synthetic so long as it's a major brand name (and not one that claims it can be run at mixed at snake oil ratios).

Do you have any experience with Amsoil ?

 

[Arbonaut]

I do not not put anything but synthetic in my 4 mix engines. You can often get way with it on a typical homeowner use trimmer because the engine power (therefore temperatures) cycle often, but blowers tend to run at max HP for long run times(like full tanks!). If you run you trimmer/brush cutter at full power for entire tanks, you will have the same issues.

I've "fixed" several BR600's in my neighborhood by simply getting the owner to change from what ever junk oil they had lying around to synthetic. Within a few tank fulls, the blowers were as running sweet again, and I didn't have to deal with decarbonizing. I don't care what synthetic so long as it's a major brand name (and not one that claims it can be run at mixed at snake oil ratios).

That's because Synthetic products don't contain carbon. In fact, they attack it. And you use less fuel running Ultra or Bel-Ray, etc, because the stuff releases energy instead of smoke.

 

[Stihl Crazy]

For what it's worth, here in Canada most every "OEM" oil is still old fashioned dino. This is contrary to what is sold in the US. I have often wondered why this is, but cannot come to any conclusion.

The only Stihl 2 cycle mix my dealer sells is dino, which is actually manufactured by Castrol.

As a side note, the only 5W20 our Ford dealer sells is also dino. And yes, it is Ford Motorcraft dino oil that is recommended by Ford USA for both my wife's new Fiesta and my newer Ranger.

Take it as you will, but all engines are running fine all the time on dino, even in our "harsh" Canadian climate:msp_biggrin:

The synthetic Stihl is available here in Canada but at a high cost. We get complaints about the cost of the dino oil so don't bring the other in. We have 4-mix units in the school, public works and transportation depts for years running the old oil. No oil related failures yet.